Lesson 27
ON THE SACRAMENTALS

292 Q. What is a sacramental?
A. A sacramental is anything set apart or blessed by the Church to
excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these
movements of the heart to remit venial sin.

It is not the sacramental itself that gives grace, but the devotion, the
love of God, or sorrow for sin that it inspires. For example, a person
comes into the church and goes around the Stations of the Cross. The
stations are a sacramental. In looking at one station he sees Our Lord
on trial before Pilate; in another he sees Him crowned with thorns; in
another, scourged; in another, carrying His Cross; in another,
crucified; in another, dead and laid in the tomb. Before all these
pictures he reflects on the sufferings of Our Saviour, and begins to
hate sin, that caused them. Then he thinks, of his own sins, and begins
to be sorry for them. This sorrow, caused by going around the stations,
brings him grace that remits venial sins. When we receive the Sacraments
we always get the grace of the Sacraments when we are rightly disposed;
but in using the sacramentals, the more devotion we have the more grace
we receive.

"Increase devotion." If we knelt down before a plain white wall we could
not pray with the devotion we would have kneeling before a crucifix. We
see the representation of the nails in the hands and feet, the blood on
the side, the thorns on the head; and all these must make us think of
Our Lord's terrible sufferings. The picture of a friend hanging before
us will often make us think of him when we would otherwise forget him.
So also will the pictures of Our Lord and of the saints keep them often
in our minds.

*293 Q. What is the difference between the Sacraments and the
sacramentals?
A. The difference between the Sacraments and the sacramentals is: first,
the Sacraments were instituted by Jesus Christ and the sacramentals were
instituted by the Church; second, the Sacraments give grace of
themselves when we place no obstacle in the way; the sacramentals excite
in us pious dispositions, by means of which we may obtain grace.

The Church can increase or diminish the number of the sacramentals, but
not the number of the Sacraments.

294 Q. Which is the chief sacramental used in the Church?
A. The chief sacramental used in the Church is the Sign of the Cross.

295 Q. How do we make the Sign of the Cross?
A. We make the Sign of the Cross by putting the right hand to the
forehead, then on the breast, and then to the left and right shoulders;
saying, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost. Amen.

It is important to make an exact cross, and to say all the words
distinctly. From carelessness and habit some persons do not make the
Sign of the Cross, though they often intend to bless themselves. They
put the hand only to the forehead and breast, or forehead and chin, or
forehead and shoulders, etc. Some do not even touch the forehead. All
these, it is true, are some signs and movements of the hand, but they
are not the Sign of the Cross. Therefore, from childhood form the good
habit of blessing yourself correctly, and you will continue to do it
properly all your life.

296 Q. Why do we make the Sign of the Cross?
A. We make the Sign of the Cross to show that we are Christians and to
profess our belief in the chief mysteries of our religion.

The cross is the banner or standard of Christianity, just as the stars
and stripes--the flag of the United States--is our civil standard, and
shows to what nation we belong.

*297 Q. How is the Sign of the Cross a profession of faith in the chief
mysteries of our religion?
A. The Sign of the Cross is a profession of faith in the chief mysteries
of our religion because it expresses the mysteries of the Unity and
Trinity of God and of the Incarnation and death of Our Lord.

*298 Q. How does the Sign of the Cross express the mystery of the Unity
and Trinity of God?
A. The words: "In the name" express the Unity of God; the words that
follow, "of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" express
the mystery of the Trinity.

*299 Q. How does the Sign of the Cross express the mystery of the
Incarnation and death of Our Lord?
A. The Sign of the Cross expresses the mystery of the Incarnation by
reminding us that the Son of God, having become man, suffered death on
the Cross.

Besides these chief mysteries, we will find, if we think a little, that
the Sign of the Cross reminds us of many other things. It reminds us of
the sin of our first parents, which made the Cross necessary; it reminds
us of the hatred God bears to sin, when such sufferings were endured to
make satisfaction for it; it reminds us of Christ's love, etc.

300 Q. What other sacramental is in very frequent use?
A. Another sacramental in very frequent use is holy water.

301 Q. What is, holy water?
A. Holy water is water blessed by the priest with solemn prayer to beg
God's blessing on those who use it, and protection from the power of
darkness.

The priest prays that those who use this water may not fall into sin;
may be free from the power of the devil and from bodily diseases, etc.
Therefore when they do use the water they get the benefit of all these
prayers, because the priest says: "If they use it, God grant them all
these things."

302 Q. Are there any other sacramentals besides the Sign of the Cross
and holy water?
A. Besides the Sign of the Cross and holy water there are many other
sacramentals, such as blessed candles, ashes, palms, crucifixes, images
of the Blessed Virgin and of the saints, rosaries, and scapulars.

"Candles," blessed on the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed
Virgin (see Butler's Lives of the Saints, Feb. 2, Feast of the
Purification). The Church blesses whatever it uses. Some say beautifully
that the wax of the candle gathered by the bees from sweet flowers
reminds us of Our Lord's pure, human body, and that the flame reminds us
of His divinity. Again, candles about the altar remind us of the angels,
those bright spirits ever about God's throne; they remind us, too, of
the persecution of the Christians in the first ages of the Church, when
they had to hear Mass and receive the Sacraments in dark places, where
lights were necessary that priests and people might see. Again, lights
are a beautiful ornament for the altar, and in keeping with holy things.
Lights are a sign of joy: hence the very old custom of lighting bonfires
to express joy. So we have lights to express our joy at the celebration
of the Holy Mass. Again, if we wish to honor any great person in the
Church or State, we illuminate the city for his reception. So, too, we
illuminate our altars and churches for the reception of Our Lord, that
we may honor Him when He comes in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and is
present at Benediction.

"Ashes" are placed on our heads by the priest on Ash Wednesday, while he
says: "Remember, man, thou art but dust and unto dust thou shalt
return." They are a sign of penance, and so we use them at the beginning
of Lent.

"Palms," to remind us of Our Lord's coming in triumph into Jerusalem,
when the people out of respect for Him threw palms, and even their
garments, beneath His feet on the way, singing His praises and wishing
to make Him king. Yet these same people only one week later were among
those who crucified Him. Do we not also at times honor Our Lord, call
Him our king, and shortly afterwards insult and, as far as we can,
injure Him by sin? Do we not say in the Our Father, "Hallowed, or
praised, be His name," and blaspheme it ourselves?

"Crucifix," if it has an image of Our Lord upon it; if not it is simply
a cross, because crucifix means fixed to the cross.

"Images"--that is, statues, pictures, etc.

"Rosaries," called also the beads. The rosary or beads is a very old and
very beautiful form of prayer. In the beginning pious people, we are
told, used to say a certain number of prayers, and keep count of them on
a string with knots or beads. However that may be, the Rosary, as we now
have it, comes down to us from St. Dominic. He instructed the people by
it, and converted many heretics. In the rosary beads here are
fifty-three small beads on which we say the "Hail Mary" and six large
beads on which we say the "Our Father." In saying the Rosary, before
saying the "Our Father" on the large beads, we think or meditate for a
while on some event in the life of Our Lord, and these events we call
Mysteries of the Rosary. There are fifteen of these events taken in the
order in which they occurred in the life of Our Lord; and hence there
are fifteen Mysteries in the whole Rosary. First we have the five Joyful
Mysteries. (1) The Annunciation--that is, the angel Gabriel coming to
tell the Blessed Virgin that she is to be the Mother of God. (2) The
Visitation, when the Blessed Virgin went to visit her cousin St.
Elizabeth--the mother of St. John the Baptist, who was six months older
than Our Lord. Elizabeth said to her, "Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb"; and the Blessed Virgin answered
her in the beautiful words of the Magnificat, that we sing at Vespers
while the priest incenses the altar. (3) The Nativity, or birth of Our
Lord, which reminds us how He was born in a stable, in poverty and
lowliness. (4) The Presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple.
According to the law of Moses, the people were obliged to bring the
first boy born in every family to the temple in Jerusalem and offer him
to God. Then they gave some offering to buy him back, as it were, from
God. The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, who kept all the laws, took Our
Lord and offered Him in the temple--although He Himself was the Lord of
the temple. Nevertheless others did not know this, and the Blessed
Virgin and St. Joseph observed the laws, though not bound to do so, that
their neighbors might not be scandalized in seeing them neglect these
things. They did not know, as she did, that the little Infant was the
Son of God, and need not keep the law of Moses or any law, because He
was the maker of the laws. We should learn from this never to give
scandal; and even when we have good excuse for not observing the law, we
should observe it for the sake of good example to others; or at least,
when we can, we should explain why we do not observe the law. (5) The
fifth Joyful Mystery is the finding of the child Jesus in the temple.
All the men and boys, from twelve years of age upward, were obliged,
according to the Old Law, to go up to Jerusalem and offer sacrifice on
the great feasts. On one of these feasts the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph,
and Our Lord went to Jerusalem. When His parents and their friends were
returning home Our Lord was missing. He had not accompanied them from
the city. Then the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph went back to Jerusalem
and sought Him with great sorrow for three days. At the end of that time
they found Him in the temple sitting with the doctors of the law asking
them questions. Our Lord obediently returned with His parents to
Nazareth. At thirty years of age He was baptized by John the Baptist in
the River Jordan. The baptism of John was not a Sacrament, did not give
grace of itself; but, like a sacramental, it disposed those who received
it to be sorry for their sins and to receive the gift of faith and
Baptism of Christ. The eighteen years from the time Our Lord went down
to Nazareth after being found in the temple till His baptism is called
His hidden life, while all that follows His baptism is called His public
life. It is very strange that not a single word should be given in the
Holy Scriptures about Our Lord during His youth--the very time young men
are most anxious to be seen and heard. Our Lord knew all things and
could do all things when a young man, and yet for the sake of example He
remained silent, living quietly with His parents and doing His daily
work for them. Thus you understand what is meant by the five Joyful
Mysteries of the Rosary: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity
of Our Lord, the Presentation of the child Jesus in the temple, and the
finding of the child Jesus in the temple. You meditate on one of these
before each decade (ten) of the beads.

Next in order in the life of Our Lord come the five events called the
Sorrowful Mysteries, namely: (1) The agony in the garden, when Our Lord
went there to pray on Holy Thursday night, before He was taken prisoner.
There the blood came out through His body as perspiration does through
ours, and He was in dreadful anguish. The reason of His sorrow and
anguish has already been given in the explanation of the Passion. (2)
The scourging of Our Lord at the pillar. This also has been explained.
What terrible cruelty existed in the world before Christianity! In our
times the brute beasts have more protection from cruel treatment than
the pagan slaves had then. The Church came to their assistance. It
taught that all men are God's children, that slaves as well as masters
were redeemed by Jesus Christ, and that masters must be kind and just to
their slaves. Many converts from paganism through love for Our Lord and
this teaching of the Church, granted liberty to their slaves; and thus
as civilization spread with the teaching of Christianity, slavery ceased
to exist. It was not in the power of the Church, however, to abolish
slavery everywhere, but she did it as soon as she could. Even at present
she is fighting hard to protect the poor Negroes of Africa against it,
or at least to moderate its cruelty. (3) The third Sorrowful Mystery is
the crowning with thorns. (4) The carriage of the Cross to Calvary. It
was the common practice to make the prisoner at times carry his cross to
the place of execution, and over the cross they printed what he was put
to death for. That is the reason they placed over Our Lord's cross
I.N.R.I., which are the first letters of four Latin words meaning,
"Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." They pretended by this sign that
Our Lord was put to death for calling Himself King of the Jews, and was
thus a disturber of the public peace, and an enemy of the Roman emperor
under whose power they were. Our Lord did say that He was King of the
Jews, but He also said that He was not their earthly but their heavenly
king. The real cause of their putting Our Lord to death was the jealousy
of the Jewish priests and Pharisees. He rebuked them for their faults,
and showed the good, sincere people what hypocrites these men were. (5)
The last of the Sorrowful Mysteries is the Crucifixion. At the foot of
the Cross our blessed Mother stood on the day of Crucifixion, and it
must have been a very sad sight for Our Lord. She was without anyone to
take care of her; for St. Joseph was dead, and her Son was soon to die.
Our Lord asked St. John, one of His Apostles, to take care of her. St.
John was dear to Christ, and on that account is called the beloved
disciple. He is known to us as St. John the Evangelist. He was the last
of the Apostles to die. At one time he was cast into a cauldron of
boiling oil, but was miraculously saved by God (see Butler's Lives of
the Saints, Dec. 27). He lived to be over a hundred years old, and while
on the island of Patmos wrote the Apocalypse or Revelations--the last
book of the New Testament--containing prophecies of what will happen at
the end of the world. The Blessed Virgin lived on earth about eleven
years after the Ascension of Our Lord. They buried her in a tomb, and
tradition tells us that after her burial the angels carried her body to
Heaven, where she now sits beside her Divine Son. This taking of her
body to Heaven is called the Assumption. This feast was celebrated in
the Church from a very early age. A very strong proof of the Assumption
is that no persons ever claimed to have any part of the body of the
Blessed Virgin as a relic. We have the bodies of some of the Apostles,
especially St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. James transmitted to us; and
certainly if it had been possible the first Christians would have
endeavored to get some portion, at least, of the Blessed Virgin's body.
Surely St. John, who knew her so well, would have given to the church he
established some part of her body as a relic; but since her entire body
was taken to Heaven, it was never possible.

After the Sorrowful Mysteries come the five Glorious Mysteries, and they
are: (1) The Resurrection of Our Lord; (2) The Ascension of Our Lord;
(3) The Coming of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles; (4) The Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin; and (5) The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin in
Heaven. All but the last have been explained in foregoing parts of the
Catechism. In this last Mystery we consider our Blessed Lady just after
her entrance into Heaven, being received by her Divine Son, our Blessed
Lord, and being crowned Queen of Heaven over all the angels and saints.
In saying the Rosary we are, as I have told you before, to stop after
mentioning the Mystery and think over the lesson it teaches, and thus
excite ourselves to love and devotion before saying the "Our Father" and
"Hail Marys" in honor of it. Generally what we call the beads is only
one third of the Rosary; that is, we can only say five mysteries on the
beads unless we go over them three times. If you say your beads every
day you will say the whole Rosary twice a week and have one day to
spare.

On Sundays, except the Sundays of Advent and Lent, we should say always
the Glorious Mysteries. You see, the Mysteries run in the order in which
they happen in Our Lord's life. So on Monday we say the Joyful
Mysteries, on Tuesday the Sorrowful, and on Wednesday the Glorious. Then
we begin again on Thursday the Joyful, on Friday the Sorrowful, on
Saturday the Glorious. In Advent we say the Joyful, and in Lent the
Sorrowful Mysteries on every day. In Eastertime we always say the
Glorious mysteries.

I have told you what the letters I.N.R.I. mean; now let me tell you what
I.H.S. with a cross over them mean. You often see these letters on
altars and on holy things. They are simply an abbreviation for Our
Lord's name, "Jesus," as it was first written in Greek letters. Some
also take these letters for the first letters of the Latin words that
mean: Jesus, Saviour of men. And as the cross is placed over these
letters it can signify that He saved them by His death on the Cross.

"Scapulars." The scapular is a large broad piece of cloth worn by the
monks and priests of some of the religious orders. It extends from the
toes in front to the heels behind, and is wide enough to cover the
shoulders. It is worn over the cassock or habit. It is called scapular
because it rests on the shoulders. The scapular as we wear it is two
small pieces of cloth fastened together by two pieces of braid or cord
resting on the shoulders. It is made thus in imitation of the large
scapular, and is to be worn under our ordinary garments. The brown
scapular is called the Scapular of Mount Carmel. It was given, we are
told on good authority, to blessed Simon Stock by the Blessed Virgin
herself, with wonderful promises in favor of those who wear it. The
Church grants many privileges and indulgences to those who wear the
scapular.

We wear the scapular to indicate that we place ourselves under the
special protection of the Blessed Virgin. We can tell to what army or
nation a soldier belongs by the uniform he wears; so we can consider the
scapular as the particular uniform of those who desire to serve the
Blessed Virgin in some special manner. This wearing of the brown
scapular is therefore a mark of special devotion to the Blessed Virgin
Mary. As it was first introduced among people by the Carmelite Fathers,
or priests of the Order of Mount Carmel, this Scapular is called the
Scapular of Mount Carmel. We have also a red scapular in honor of Our
Lord's Passion; a white one in honor of the Holy Trinity; a blue one in
honor of the Immaculate Conception; and a black one in honor of the
seven dolors of sorrows of the Blessed Virgin. When all these are joined
together (not in one piece, but at the top only) and worn as one, they
are called the five scapulars.

The seven dolors are seven chief occasions of sorrow in the life of our
Blessed Lady. They are: (1) The circumcision of Our Lord, when she saw
His blood shed for the first time. (2) Her flight into Egypt to save the
life of the little Infant Jesus when Herod was seeking to kill Him. (3)
The three days she lost Him in Jerusalem. (4) When she saw Christ
carrying His Cross. (5) His death. (6) When He was taken down from the
Cross. (7) When He was laid in the sepulchre. There are beads called
seven dolor beads constructed with seven medals bearing representations
of these sorrows, and seven beads between each medal and the next. At
the medals we meditate on the dolor, and then in its honor say "Hail
Marys" on the beads.